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The Start of the Taliban
The Taliban are a group of aggressive Sunni Muslims who first emerged during the war between the Soviet Union and the Mujahideen. The Taliban's goal was to push the Soviets out of Afghanistan. They also wanted to run Afghanistan by a strict interpretation of Sharia law. -
Women's Restrictions
The Taliban targeted women and restricted them from doing many things. Women are prohibited from attending school, working, taking a taxi, going to a public hospital, and much more. The Taliban beat and abuse women who do not follow their rules and interpretation of the Sharia. -
Mullah Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar was the founder and original leader of the Taliban. He originally recruited only 50 students to join the Taliban, but after a year he had almost 12,000 in his group. Mullah Mohammed Omar died in 2013 and Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour replaced him as Taliban leader. -
Prohibitions On Culture
The Taliban banned many Middle Eastern cultural traditions and activities. Movie theaters, kite flying, sports, music, dancing, and shaving of beards are a few examples of the prohibited activities. If these activities were carried out, severe punishment occured. -
Destruction of Statues
Taliban leader Mulla Mohammed Omar ordered that all pre-Islamic and non-Islamic religious statues and monuments in Afghanistan must be destroyed. One included the destruction of a 2,000 year old Buddha statue carved into Bamiyan cliffsides. Also, several ancient artifacts in the Kabual Museum were destroyed. -
Repercussions of 9/11
After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in attempt to search for Mullah Mohammed Omar and Osama bin Laden. In response, the Taliban and their leader quickly moved into tribal Pakistan areas as a way to hide from the U.S. invasion. The U.S. was unsuccessful with finding either of the wanted people. In addition, the U.S. also bombed Afghanistan as a repercussion of the 9/11 attack. -
Operation Anaconda
On March 2, 2002, The U.S. launched Operation Anaconda, a mission to cut of the Taliban and al-Qaeda's ability from being able to retreat into Pakistan. This operation was 16 days long and involved about 2,000 U.S. troops. Hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaeda members died and many escaped. -
Regrouping
In 2002, the majority of the Taliban separated and fled from Afghanistan and went into Pakistan and other neighboring countries. In 2005, the Taliban reformed and began fighting and bombing more cities. The Taliban worked with Arab terrorists, Osama bin Laden, and other al-Queda members with the attacks, consisting of more than 100 bombings -
Brutal Fighting
2006 had the most brutal fighting since 2001. The Taliban attacked Afghan and U.S. troops and terroized and killed civilians. Almost 40,000 troops, a combination of U.S. and NATO forces, went in and took out almost the entire Taliban population. -
An Attempt for Peace
Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf agreed to sign a peace agreement with seven groups of Pakistan Taliban. The agreement arranged for the Pakistan army to leave the area and allow the Taliban to govern themselves. The Taliban also had to promise not to invade any Afghanistan or Pakistani troops. This did not last long though. In July 2007, the Taliban took back their agreement to be peaceful and attacked a mosque filled with 2,000 students.
